LONG TIME, NO POST July 24, 2009
How ironic that the Sunday service entitle “CyberSpirit” approaches, and yet I have not blogged in what feels like millions of days.
So I have August off. During this time I will be playing catch up. See, I have been to so many places in the past 2 months. On May 18th Andy and I bought a house. Then a few days later went to Scotland. Then when we got home we had to pack and move in to the new house. Then I went to General Assembly. Then I had less than a week to unpack (not done! boxes in garage!). Then I went to Guatemala with 2 church folks for our GRACE Project ministry (providing sustainable, holistic educational materials through the leadership of UUCFM member Genelle Grant, a super-smart, spiritually grounded woman who knows her stuff in education). Then, well that brings me to this week. Or was that last week?
Anyhow, for someone who KNOWS that time management is a struggle, I can’t beat myself up too much about this wild ride the past 2 months. Sometimes you just gotta say Yes anyway. However, over the year (a full year anniversary of service will be August 18) I have learned to leave spaces in my schedule so that I am not as wildly busy as I have been. But sometimes the perfect house is for sale and needs to be bought! Sometimes a still small voice within says, do it! So I think August will give me some time to process some of my experiences at General Assembly as well as our trip to Guatemala. I will post pics from Guatemala as well.
All of this is to basically say, I will stay in touch!
Letter to Publix: Campaign for Fair Food July 2, 2009
Friends,
The 2008 UUA General Assembly passed an Action of Immediate Witness entitled, “End Present-Day Slavery in the Fields.” This Action urges UU congregations “to work with the CIW in calling upon restaurant and grocery corporations to end slavery and sweatshops in the fields.”Yum Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC), McDonalds, Burger King, Subway and Whole Foods are all working with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to improve wages and conditions of tomato pickers. on Sunday we will join in signing postcards to call on leaders of Publix to do the same.
I have yet to hear a peep from any representative from Publix in response to the letter I sent posted below. I love my local Publix and my reusable Publix grocery bags. I enjoy connecting with the friendly folks at check-out, bagging, or cart-stacking. I love the Green Initiative. But tomatoes from Publix may have been picked by the hands of an enslaved brother or sister. This is I do not love. This real possibility is most disturbing. My hope is that the added positive expectations and pressures we put on Publix will encourage them to contact the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and take a stand for fair food in Florida and on our grocery shelves. See the following letter I sent:
June 11, 2009
Mr. Ed Crenshaw, CEO
Publix Supermarkets Corporate Office
PO Box 401
Lakeland, FL 33802-0407
Dear Mr. Crenshaw,
As a board member of Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida and as a person of faith, I ask for you and your constituents to reconsider your silence and lack of accountability in the larger systems of agricultural industry that affect day-to-day lives of Florida farm workers and their families.
As the Chief Executive Officer of a large corporation you have the opportunity to set a precedent by calling for an end to the human rights abuses and sub-poverty wages faced by workers who pick the tomatoes sold in your stores. Departed are the days when we could not point fingers at others and abdicate responsibility. As many political critics remind us, we cannot rely on the government to do everything for us. That includes taking a stand against injustice in Florida’s tomato fields. Publix continues to purchase tomatoes from both Pacific Tomato Growers and Six L’s, despite the fact that workers who worked on those farms have been held against their will.
I am asking you to truly fulfill your mission. In 2001 Publix began a Green Routine initiative. Your website declares: “Sustainability means balancing the needs of humanity with the needs of the living earth.” Taking a hands-off approach in the issue of modern day slavery in Florida fields is anathema to your Sustainability Initiative. Publix Corporation’s silence dishonors the needs of humanity. A basic need of humanity is freely chosen, dignified work with a living wage. Sustainability of our planet depends on the stewardship of human dignity and freedom. I applaud your green efforts. Don’t diminish these efforts by denying the power you have to call Six L’s and Pacific to account for injustices that happen in their tomato fields.
Sincerely yours,
Rev. Allison Farnum
General Assembly 2009 June 25, 2009
For those of you who are new to Unitarian Universalism, you may think you have escaped organized religion, but truly you have not. We actually are an organized religion, and our yearly national meetings prove it! The intention with which we structure our religious institutions is vital to enlivening the covenants we make together in the presence of the sacred. If we do not build structures that account for our yearning towards multiculturalism, the pull of the status quo and the dominant culture will pull us back to a comfortable complacency.
The structure of our gatherings over the years has evolved. This year we are focusing more on providing resources to the congregations in the form of UU University, offering tracks in areas ranging from the ever-tantalizing church Governance, Social Justice, Multi-generational church, Theology, Stewardship, etc. And the best part of this is that all of this will be on video and available for purchase for congregational use. The Social Justice track I attended today (which finishes tomorrow) was well-organized and stimulating in mind, body, and spirit. Presenters like Paula Cole- Jones of the JUUST Change consultancy for the UUA, Paul Rasor and Sharon Welch left me wanting to read more of their words and preach their gospel.
You can still particpate by watching GA online streaming here. Be sure to catch the Sunday morning worship with my beloved mentor the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi preaching. As leadership development continues to be a focus of General Assembly, my hope is that we will set aside funds for our leaders that they may attend and be inspired in mind, body, and spirit by this special yearly gathering.
Allison at the Meadville Lombard booth as a proud alumna!
You Are the Music in Me! June 14, 2009
I just got back from the Southwest Florida Gay and Lesbian Chorus performance “80 Spectacular Years of Disney,” and my face hurts from smiling so much. As someone who is often up on a platform putting myself & my energy out there, it is so nourishing to be in the seats receiving the energy from others.
And what better group that the Gay and Lesbian Chorus? Here is a group that sings with heart and feeling. Until now I had no idea Disney songs could be so cool. Perhaps it is also the context. Hearing the song, “Someday My Prince Will Come” replete with song and dance from some fine male basses & tenors was utterly fabulous. The song “Beautiful” reminded me of the ethos of gay and lesbian pride that says- you are beautiful! you are loved!
Maybe my schmaltzy centers are activated because this is the group that gave their time and talent to sing at my ordination. Maybe it’s because it’s pride month and I myself am deeply proud of the gathering energy in Lee County that can bring us closer to justice for us/ our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. But mostly, it’s because each person in the chorus let their light shine, gave the best of what they had- their authentic selves. This is such a huge part of what gay pride is about- being who you are and shining that loving light onto others.
I want to publicly thank this fine, dedicated group for bringing so much fun and joy to our community! I love you all!
Unitarians in Edinburgh June 5, 2009
Andy and I had a fabulous trip together in Scotland. On our last day there, we went with our friends to St. Marks Church.
Andy & Allison in front of St Marks
The service was very similar to ours. A chalice was lit, prayer time, hymns, musical interlude and sermon. They had a green hymnal published out of London by the British Unitarian Association in addition to our familiar Singing the Living Tradition gray hymnal.
view from the pews
After the service we trooped through the sanctuary to a room behind it. We queued up for tea and coffee and good conversation.
The wee hospitality helpers. The gal on the right, Alice, is the daughter of our friends Paul and Mindy. I love Alice!
They even had a fair trade table:
On our travels, we also visited a church in Fortingall in the Perthshire region of Scotland. The church there situated itself, as many churches did, at a sacred site. The church was built right next to an ancient yew tree. Experts speculate over its age, but the ball-park age of the Yew tree is 5,000 years.
info sign at the church
The yew is protected now b/c over time people have carved out bits of it to take home with them. It is amazing it still lives after being hollowed out by greed.
Where you see ground used to be the solid trunk of the yew. Only parts of it remain, but it lives!
It was a treat to spend so much time with my partner, my beautiful husband! It is a gift to be employed by congregations who value a minister’s time away to be refreshed and to spend time with loved ones.
Thanks!
At Arthur's Seat atop Edinburgh
That Church is so Gay! May 18, 2009
I have been thinking about being a Welcoming Congregation and how it is an ongoing process. I hear stories that some worried we would become a gay church by making the commitment of being a Welcoming Congregation.
And I say, “Bring it on!” I would love for us to be a gay church.
I want to share with you a blog post from my colleague in Providence, RI, the Rev. James Ishmael Ford:
HOW TO BECOME A GAY CHURCH: A Call to a New Age in Spiritual Community
In the end, he takes the congregation through a journey of repentance. We cannot deny the pain and suffering our gay/lesbian/bi and trans brothers and sisters. And in Southwest Florida it is rough. Imagine being a queer high school youth in these parts. Imagine being raised thinking you were unnatural and hell-bound.
When I think of those kids in junior high and high school, I know that I want us to be a gay church.
“How to Respond to a Racist Joke” By Carmen Van Kerckhove May 12, 2009
Friends,
I thought this might be a helpful resource from someone whose work I really admire (also, check out a great she is in on called Racialicious.com). Her bio and pitch follow:
Carmen Van Kerckhove, president of the diversity education firm New Demographic, specializes in working with corporations to facilitate relaxed, authentic, and productive conversations about race. She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and has visited as a guest lecturer at Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, among many other colleges and universities across the country. If you want to learn how to boost your career by mastering the changing dynamics of race in today’s workplace, get your FREE TIPS now at www.NewDemographic.com.
How to Respond to a Racist Joke
By Carmen Van Kerckhove
Figuring out how to react when a co-worker makes a racist joke can be extremely difficult. If you don’t call the person out on her racism, you seem to be condoning the behavior. But if you do say something, you risk alienating him and sabotaging your working relationship.
The best response to a racist joke should accomplish 3 things:
1. Communicate that you find this behavior unacceptable.
2. Demonstrate that the joke is racist.
3. Inflict as little damage as possible to your working relationship with the joker.
Before I explain the response I would recommend, let’s look at some of the other possible reactions available to you and why they are not ideal.
You don’t laugh.
Withholding your laughter is a way to avoid personally colluding in this kind of racist behavior without damaging your relationship with the joker. However, by staying silent, you do not necessarily make it clear that you find this kind of humor unacceptable and that the joke is racist.
You walk away.
People who tell racist jokes assume that you will agree with and appreciate this kind of humor. By walking away, you communicate that their behavior is unacceptable. However, the act of walking away does nothing to demonstrate the racism inherent in the joke, and the gesture is likely to anger the joker.
You say that you find the joke offensive because it is racist.
This is the most straight-forward to respond to a racist joke. With this reaction, you convey that the joke is unacceptable to you and that it is racist. However, by criticizing your co-worker in front of others in such a blunt manner, you are likely to damage your working relationship and put her on the defensive. She will likely fire back by making it seem as if you are the one with the problem. She will say that “it’s just a joke,” that you need to “loosen up,” and that you’re “just too sensitive.”
I’ve established why the above responses are not particularly effective. So how should you react if your co-worker tells a racist joke in front of you?
The best strategy is to play dumb.
Put on a bewildered expression, act as if you don’t understand the joke, and ask your co-worker to explain it to you. He will not be able to explain why the joke is funny without evoking a racist stereotype. You can then question the veracity of this stereotype, thus pointing out the racism of the joke, without being confrontational and without humiliating your co-worker.
Here’s how it would play out.
***
Co-worker: Did you hear that Angelina Jolie adopted another kid, this time from Vietnam?
You: Oh really?
Co-worker: Yeah. The poor kid probably doesn’t even know he’s Asian yet. He certainly doesn’t know he’s going to be a horrible driver. Or that he’s going to be amazing at doing nails. He has no idea! [Laughs heartily.]
You: [Look perplexed.] Sorry, I don’t get it.
Co-worker: What do you mean?
You: I guess I’m missing something. Why is that funny?
Co-worker: [Looks embarrassed.] Um, well you know how people say that Asians are bad drivers. And a lot of people who work at nail salons are Asian.
You: But those are just stereotypes, aren’t they?
Co-worker: Well, all stereotypes have some truth to them.
You: So you actually believe that all Asians are bad drivers and are good at doing nails?
Co-worker: No, no, it’s just… Never mind.
***
Racist jokes rely on an unspoken, shared knowledge of racist stereotypes. Without the stereotypes, there is no humor.
When you play dumb and ask someone to explain the joke, you are able to draw the racist stereotype out into the open, address it directly, and demonstrate how absurd and offensive it is. But because you are feigning ignorance, you can accomplish all of this without alienating your co-worker and putting your working relationship in jeopardy.
(By the way, the joke I used in this scenario is an actual joke told on The Tonight Show by a comedian named Chelsea Handler. Of course, nobody on the show bothered to point out how racist it was.)
© 2004-2009 New Demographic.
Nesting in Unexpected Places May 8, 2009
My mother-in-law has a wreath on her front door that has become an bird’s nest. New life begins in the most unexpected places. As assumed premiers of consciousness, we humans are obligated to care for life in its beginnings and accountable to life that will continue on long after we are gone.
There is a fragility to life. The same day we discovered the birds, wandering dogs, potentially abandoned, took a tour of the grounds and found human friends in our church administrator Millisa and our volunteer Audrey. The dogs got water; Millisa and Audrey fretted over their well-being, the bony big dog who needed food.
And the love continued….Millisa, worried for the baby birds who were nested low to the ground, had pink ribbon marking off the area so that the thrashers might thrive and not be disturbed. Yesterday I saw only two babies and wondered about the black snakes that might have taken one of the three. Of the remaining two, one birdlet had ventured a few paces from the nest, perching in the jasmine with her mouth open for nourishment. The other was on the ground at the base of the bush, it’s beak pushed out in defiance with a ridiculously cute puff of baby-feathers on her head. And all the while the mother came and went, bring food and swooping away any foes.
The web of nature is so vast that we as stewards of it truly have little control of the egg-eating crows or birdlet-munching blacksnakes. We do, however, have control of our own behaviors. I can choose to protect life and see myself as only a small bit of a larger, wondrous system. It’s not about me. And yet, I am one speck of all creation who is entirely worthy of love and care- as all specks are.
This leads me to always wonder, why must I drive a car that spews carbon into the atmosphere? Why must use so many electronics? Why must I use styrofoam and plastic grocery bags? Why do I kill cockroaches and ants? When will the guilt end and the right-living begin?
So I ask hope to nest in my heart, to remind me of the right-living I already do. And, on occasion, I require a gentle nudge towards revelation of what still yearns for wholeness. And so my guilt and frustration is incubated in the shell of compassion and grace. And a vision of gratitude and responsible action is hatched.
Congratulations, FGCU graduates! May 4, 2009
It was an honor to be the invocation speaker for FGCU’s 2009 Commencement. I had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful folks and seeing some familiar faces.
Here are the words from yesterday’s invocation:
In witness of all that is holy in our lives, I invite you into the spirit of prayer and meditation..
Spirit of Life, God of many names and Mystery,
Today marks the beginning of new life, new hope, and new promises. We give thanks for all the sweat, all the brain power, and all the determination that brought these graduates to this moment, knowing that for every student we might also give thanks for the resources provided to them- loving friends and family, staff and faculty– many of whom gather here today with joy and pride in their hearts.
It is a path well traveled that brings us together in this singular moment of celebration and achievement, on the threshold of new life and opportunity. We come with a healthy dose of fear and trembling, wondering, what will I be? And Love answers back with the question, how will you live? And though the future is not without challenges, let us aim our minds bodies and spirits towards a life lived deliberately= choices made wisely that value that which is most sacred in our lives. Though we gather among thousands, in these few moments, we send our blessings to each individual graduate here today- that each of you will commit to bringing your best self to the future- letting your light shine to serve the earth and her people. For each of you are on a threshold, entering into a new passage. As you step into your success, give thanks and choose to bless the world with all that you are and all that you shall be.
